Lower Control Arm Bushes + Dobinson IMS Struts (1 Viewer)

[TonyHH]

Hi All,

I scored a bargain set of barely used 2nd hand susension recently and installed it yetserday.

I found my lower control arm bushes completely severed. Great for making suspension install easy, but not good for much else...

So my first question relates to the bushes.

OE Rubber bushes are very expensive. I am wondering if anyone has gone to poly lower control arm bushes and can report of ride harshness. I swore off poly bushes years ago owing to the harshness they introduced, but that was live axle vehicles. I'm thinking the poly may hold an advantage in the case of LCA's as it can pivot as the suspension moves, and am I kidding myself that the harshness won't be increased given the nature of the LCA?



Secondly, I am finding the IMS very stiff. I went from a kings spring, 50mm lift 100-250kgs spring to a dobinsons 60mm 80-100kg spring. The wire is a similar thickness and the dobinsons have an extra coil, so I expected them to be softer, more comopliant, if anything. I'm guess the shocks are just valved very firmly?

I can't find much info on these vehicles.Everyone seems to use pre-fabbed kits, or not tinker like the live axle vehicles.

Thanks.

 

[bloc]

Price out new LCAs. It may not be a whole lot more than the bushings and you get a fresh lower ball joint.

I am on here a lot and don't recall anyone running poly on stock lower arms. A few run UCAs with poly, and seem to have mixed results keeping them quiet. It really does seem the stock bushings are superior overall though.

I haven't messed with IMS, so I'll let someone else speak up on that.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Price out new LCAs. It may not be a whole lot more than the bushings and you get a fresh lower ball joint.

I am on here a lot and don't recall anyone running poly on stock lower arms. A few run UCAs with poly, and seem to have mixed results keeping them quiet. It really does seem the stock bushings are superior overall though.

I haven't messed with IMS, so I'll let someone else speak up on that.

What he said. The LCAs are available complete with bushings already installed and a new ball joint.

The cost isn’t much more than just buying the bushings believe it or not

The bushings are considerably more of a pain in the ass to press out and back in a than any other bushings I’ve ever dealt with. I tried on my Tundra. It was an ordeal, and I most definitely wouldn’t do it again

 

[TonyHH]

Thanks fellas.

Am I getting myself into 'should I investigate Tundra lca's"? Not sure of availability in Oz, but I'd hate to replace the complete lca's and learn I should have swapped to the longer Tundra arms, or is it a bigger job, including uca's, axles etc?

 

[Boston Mangler]

Thanks fellas.

Am I getting myself into 'should I investigate Tundra lca's"? Not sure of availability in Oz, but I'd hate to replace the complete lca's and learn I should have swapped to the longer Tundra arms, or is it a bigger job, including uca's, axles etc?

I just redid mine with regular OEM 200 arms

The LCAs are one of the “while you’re in there and everything’s apart, I might as well” type of jobs

 

[bloc]

Tundra lowers would require uppers, CVs, TREs, doing something to the rear axle to even out track width..

 

[TonyHH]

Tundra lowers would require uppers, CVs, TREs, doing something to the rear axle to even out track width..

Thanks. That's a can of worms I'll leave well enough alone.